Fit to be tied -- again

Bartram, Menendez battle to another 1-1 draw

JUSTIN BARNEYStaff Writer

Published Friday, January 11, 2002

Kristen Morrow finally solved goal keeper Melissa Aubrey in the game's waning minutes to keep the District 5-2A girls soccer picture just as it was prior to Thursday night's match between Bartram Trail and Pedro Menendez.

Muddled.

The Bears and host Falcons played to a 1-1 draw, with Bartram's Morrow slipping a shot past a diving Aubrey with 3:54 left to force the tie.

"This was a great game and I'm glad we came back," said Bears coach Jen Hobson, whose team improved to 3-5-5 overall and 2-1-3 in District 5-2A.

Neither team could afford to add another loss in the district column and it showed throughout.

Aubrey, the Falcons nearly impenetrable keeper, turned away 11 shots, including one lunging save of a Morrow blast with time slipping away before intermission.

Solid play was the theme throughout.

Heather Prodromides finally broke the stalemate at the 31:24 mark of the second half, taking a pass from Erin Kelley and rapping a shot from the right side of the field that found the bottom left corner of the net.

"We played exactly how we wanted to," said Falcons coach Ron Masiak. "Our plan was to counterattack and it kind of worked."

That strategy nearly worked all the way to the finish for Menendez (5-5-3, 1-3-2 in District 5-2A).

With just over four minutes to play, Megan Graychek initiated a Bartram fastbreak from deep in Falcons' territory.

One pass later, Morrow grabbed the ball at midfield, knifed through traffic, somehow working her way near the box. She twisted and hooked a shot just past a diving Aubrey to knot the match.

"We definitely played really well," Hobson said. "I would've been upset if we played bad, but we've been working hard in practice and tonight it showed."

Outside of Morrow's goal, Aubrey was once again stellar in the net.

"She moves really well and she always seemed to be in the right position," Hobson said of Aubrey.

The tie kept the five-team district race clogged in the middle.

While Nease has cemented the top slot, and Palatka the bottom, Bartram, Menendez and St. Augustine High are dueling for the spaces between."This was an extremely important game seeding wise," Masiak said. "The race is getting as tight as a noose."